We work across Canada's boreal forest
to conserve habitat and ensure
sustainable development

Conservation Spotlights

We highlight below some of the areas with substantial opportunity for boreal forest conservation.

1

BOREAL BIRDS NEED HALF

The Boreal Birds Need Half campaign seeks to educate governments, industry, and the public on the need to set aside at least half of North America's boreal forest from development for the billions of birds and other wildlife that rely on it. In addition to protecting at least half, the campaign urges sustainable development in the remaining areas, and emphasizes that protected areas and industrial activities should proceed only with the free, prior, and informed consent of affected Aboriginal communities.

Boreal Birds Need Half is a joint effort between the Boreal Songbird Initiative and Ducks Unlimited Inc. and is based on the recommendations contained in the report, "Boreal Birds Need Half: Maintaining North America's Bird Nursery and Why it Matters." The report demonstrates why preserving at least half of this forest ecosystem is needed to give boreal birds their best opportunity for survival in today's rapidly changing world.

It is safe to say that 2008 was a big year for the Canadian Boreal Forest. Not one, but two separate provinces followed the recommendations of the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework and announced bold plans to place half of their northern boreal forests off limits to development. However, these ambitious plans will understandably take years to develop responsibly. From the need to integrate First Nations into planning phases to changes in party leadership, both provinces will be tested in coming years. With firm commitments to these goals and careful planning with First Nations, industry, and other affected parties, these plans could result in some of the largest conservation areas anywhere in the world.

In 2012, after five years of work, the Pimachiowin Aki Corporation—a collection of five First Nations as well as the Governments of Manitoba and Ontario—submitted their official bid to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bid has since been revised and is working its way through channels within the Word Heritage program. If accepted, Pimachiowin Aki would not only protect a vast region of pristine boreal forest and preserve longstanding Anishinaabe land use traditions, it would become Canada’s first UNESCO Site accepted under both natural and cultural heritage classifications.

Boreal birds don't recognize international borders; fortunately the United States and Canada cooperate to protect this transboundary resource. The U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) implements a 1916 treaty between the U.S. and Canada, as well as similar treaties the U.S. later signed with Japan, Mexico, and Russia, to protect migratory birds. The MBTA makes it illegal for anyone to hunt, kill, possess, buy, or sell any migratory bird, its nests or eggs, unless they have a permit. The law was a response to the commercial trade in birds and bird feathers that had devastated native bird populations by the early 20th century. Currently more than 1,000 species are protected under the MBTA. The Canadian counterpart to the MBTA is the Migratory Birds Convention Act (MBCA), which protects most species of birds in Canada. After nearly a century, the MBTA and MBCA have been and remain essential tools in the effort to protect and restore native migratory bird populations, including our boreal birds.